“Nephew, what are you saying! We only wanted to be in the same village. Now that we have achieved our goal, we are already satisfied. Just as our ancestors rose to prominence, we will surely rise from nothing!”
"Pah, are you trying to impress me? You're all talk, but you can't build a house without money! You can't even afford a knife."
Just as Li Shida was brimming with ambition, Yuan Shi jumped up and poured a bucket of cold water over his head, drenching him completely. He then glared angrily at Yuan Shida.
Li Shida was angry because he had lost face, and Yuan Shi felt wronged.
I already felt like I'd wasted my money, ending up in this desolate place, far from any village or shop. Oh well, the money's already gone, and it can't be brought back, but isn't this what my sister-in-law can conjure up?
The money came back on its own, why would she let it grow legs and run away again?
"I told you long ago that you are the pillar of our family. Otherwise, why would your family be the eldest among the collateral branches? I've seen it clearly along the way. Without you, we can't do anything!"
Yuan pushed past Li Shida and approached Pan Jinhua with a big smile, pouring water and serving her food.
Right now, who cares whether Li Shida is happy or not? The important thing is that her sister-in-law is not happy!
When Pan Jinhua saw Yuan's change of expression, she couldn't help but laugh. This Yuan was never one to back down with her words, but she was also quite pragmatic.
The other families originally wanted to echo Li Shida's words, but after Yuan's actions, it seemed somewhat insincere to say anything more.
"Sister-in-law, you are truly wise. We have received much kindness from you. I won't say anything else today. As for our seven branches, if you have any arrangements, just give the order. We will do whatever you say!"
Li Shijie pushed his son Li Xuyue forward. He had many sons, but he valued his eldest son the most.
"Eldest son, from now on you should just listen to your aunt."
Li Xuyue bowed respectfully.
“Auntie, we are the three brothers of the seventh branch. If you need anything, just call us.”
Li Xuluan and Li Xuya were initially disappointed that their father hadn't called them, but when they heard their eldest brother mention the three brothers, they quickly stepped forward, bowed, and repeatedly agreed.
Seeing the harmonious relationship between the brothers in the family, Li Shijie was even more satisfied with Li Xuyue.
Seeing that everyone was expressing their determination, Li Xuhai was unwilling to be left behind and quickly led a few of his brothers forward.
“Auntie, our fifth branch of the family has nothing but a lot of people. We may not be able to do the mental work, but we can handle all the physical labor. We can’t let our family fall behind!”
“What my elder brother says is true, as my aunt instructed.”
"We, the fourth branch of the family, will also follow Aunt's arrangements!"
Liu Yun laughed and said, "Now it's great, we have quite a few boys in our family!"
"That's right, Grandmother, just let me know if you need anything!"
Li Qingzhang and his younger brothers quickly vied for the emperor's favor. This was outrageous; how could they let other people's uncles and brothers monopolize the limelight?
"Grandmother, Qingjun is fine too, Qingjun is strong!"
"Qingjun, you little brat, go play. If you need anything, call us brothers!" Li Qingduan and Li Qingyi exchanged a glance and squeezed in, hugging Pan Jinhua's legs.
"Me! Me!" Li Qing refused to be outdone and raised his hand repeatedly.
The remaining girls were also eager to try. Throughout the exile, they had followed their mothers to make straw sandals and pick wild vegetables. Their grandmother had also praised them, saying that they were not necessarily inferior to their brothers.
Pan Jinhua looked at the children, her heart swelling with emotion.
She did all this simply so that she could have a better life after being exiled and retire comfortably. She united these families because there is strength in numbers, and clans were natural allies in ancient times. She just didn't expect that she would be so respected by these families before she had done many things. Of course, whether it was for money or something else, they all came together ultimately to make their lives better and better.
The world is bustling, all for profit; the world is in turmoil, all for gain.
Pan Jinhua didn't care about their opinions; as long as everyone's goals were the same, all the same thing was fine.
"Good, good, you are all so thoughtful." Pan Jinhua stroked all the filial sons and grandsons beside her, then looked at the other families.
“As I said before, if our Li family wants to rise again, we need our families to work together and advance and retreat together. Don’t think I was testing you before, it’s just that we can’t afford to have any money on us. The reason why we seem to be able to talk to Lord Cao is because we have handed over all our money. If we still had money on us, we would probably still be in Shao County right now.”
“Mother is right,” Liu Yun continued, “I inquired beforehand and found out that the dozen or so families living in this village under the tree were all assigned here because they didn’t offer any tribute. They are all single-family households, so they were dumped here. I heard that some families didn’t offer tribute sincerely. One official would go and they could make a quick buck, another official would go and scare them and make another buck. They angered the officials, so they were detained in the county and beaten a few times before being dumped here. Not only were all the money taken, but they didn’t even leave us rice and flour for more than a few days. Our families, however, were given half a month’s worth of food per person.”
"Is this really true?!" Madam Yuan exclaimed in astonishment.
"Fourth Aunt, it's true. I went with Sister Ming and found out everything."
Li Xuhai's wife said cheerfully that she was also shocked when she heard about it. Not to mention that her fourth aunt was unwilling to hand over all the money, she was actually not very willing either. However, there were no elders in their family, and her husband and younger brothers had been raised by the clan. Now they had to rely on the clan to live a good life.
Who would have thought the money would come back? It's true what they say, having an elder in the family is like having a treasure. It seems her family is missing a treasure.
"Alright, alright, let's not talk about anything else. Let's eat first, and then we'll make arrangements for tomorrow later."
After the meal, the families split into several groups.
Li Xuming, Li Xushi, Li Qingzhang, Li Qingduan, and Li Xushen from the fourth branch, Li Xujiang, Li Xuhe, and Li Xuxi from the fifth branch, and Li Xuyue and Li Xuya from the seventh branch formed a team to reclaim wasteland. Shuxia Village has a small population and a lot of wasteland. Even the original dozen or so households that reclaimed the land all relied on their own efforts.
Pan Jinhua wanted the land that the Li family acquired to be contiguous and easy to manage, so she chose a slightly farther location, but not too far. Li Xuhai was the leader, as he had been farming before and had more experience than the others.
The women, led by Li Xuhai's wife Shen, explored the surrounding hills, while the boys from the fifth branch of the family, all skilled workers, accompanied them.
Li Xuchang, along with the remaining brothers and children, did some simple repairs on the roofs of each house to prevent leaks when it rained in the cold weather.
Once the task was assigned, I had no time to think about anything else.
After everyone dispersed, some men put their arms around each other's shoulders and discussed the division of labor for the next day, while others surrounded Li Xuhai and asked about the items and techniques needed for clearing the land. It was the first time that Li Xuhai had been so valued by his clansmen, and his face turned red. He puffed out his chest and loudly talked about the farming tools he would need for the next day.
The women were also in high spirits; a new life was beginning.
Smoke curled from chimneys, mountains stretched endlessly, and laughter lingered for a long time.
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